Following on the heels of our Hyderabad Pictoguides, we’ve just completed the first print run of our 3-in-1 Pictoguide to Delhi’s World Heritage Sites. And it looks beautiful!

Priced at just Rs. 200, this 40-page guide covers the three main attractions of Delhi – the Red Fort, Qutub Minar and Humayun’s Tomb. Well-researched and presented in our trademark comic book style, it also includes maps of the monuments as well as a summary of other tourist attractions in Delhi.

How Are Pictoguides The Best Guides to Delhi?

1. Go!Places is not just a business; it is a platform for history enthusiasts to channel their knowledge, creativity and passion into promoting Indian heritage. As such, our guides aren’t just a bunch of pages printed and stapled together - each guide is a labour of love
2. Our Pictoguides are extensively researched and provide documented references, unlike any other guide in the market. You can be sure you are getting authentic information
3. The comic-style format gives facts at a glance so you spend your time looking at the monument rather than the guidebook
4. Our guidebooks don’t rush you about like human guides; you can enjoy the monument at your leisure, taking photos and exploring to your heart’s content
5. You can share one guide among your group, unlike individual-oriented audio guides; after all, the shared experience is most of the fun!

Where Can I Buy Them?

The guides will be available in bookstores in a matter of weeks. Or look for them on Flipkart, where you’ll probably get a discount, free shipping and even pay cash on delivery!

In plain English, the word ‘folly’ means the quality of being foolish. However, it is also an architectural term referring to a whimsical or extravagant structure built to serve as a conversation piece, lend interest to a view or commemorate something. Follys were largely a feature of 18th century English architecture.

However, there is a structure in India that is perfectly suited to both meanings: Major Smith’s Cupola, usually called Smith’s Folly. Built in 1823 as the cupola for the Qutub Minar, it now remains abandoned and forgotten in a corner of the vast Qutub Complex.

So, why did this edifice meet this fate?

Construction of the Qutub Minar

The Qutub Minar, built to commemorate the victory of Muhammad Ghori over the last Hindu ruler of Delhi , Prithviraj Chauhan, in the 13^th century A.D.,  is the first monument of Islamic Afghan architecture in India. Construction was initiated by Qutub-ud-din Aibak. By the time of his death, only the first storey of the Minar had been completed, it being a red and buff sandstone structure with fluted columns on the exterior and covered with the kufic style of Islamic calligraphy. Iltutmish, Qutub-ud-din’s successor carried the work on to completion, constructing three more storeys in the same style.

Feroz Shah’s Cupola

Being the tallest structure around by far, the Minar suffered more than its share of damage from earthquakes and lightning strikes. More than a century after its construction, the top storey fell off during a lightning strike in 1368. The reigning king of Delhi at the time, Feroz Shah Tughlaq, had it repaired, adding the two marble and sandstone storeys you see now at the top as well as a Cupola.

Smith’s Folly!

The refurbished Minar gamely survived centuries and the politics of empire until it succumbed once more to a natural disaster, an earthquake, in 1803. Though the damage wasn’t as significant as before, Feroz Shah’s cupola was thrown off and destroyed. Faced with an incomplete Minar, the then British Governor-General of India authorized Major Robert Smith, the hitherto respected builder of the Kashmiri Gate and St.James’ Church, to carry out the necessary repairs. These works were completed in 1828 at the not-insignificant sum of Rs. 17,000 of the time.

Only, Major Smith had exceeded his brief by re-inventing what he had been asked to re-create. He had replaced an Indo-Islamic cupola with a Bengali style chatthri! The glorious tower of Islamic dominance had been capped with a Hindu cupola!

The prospect was so ridiculous and the cupola so out of place, that Lord Hardinge eventually had it taken down in 1848 and placed it on the outer lawns of the Qutub Complex, where it still lies, like an impure,  adulterated crown that has fallen off the Minar’s head. It has been called Smith’s Folly ever since.

If there is any edifice associated with Indian History that has been draped thick by the veil of mystery and yet is a source of immense National Pride, it has to be the Iron Pillar of Mehrauli. Aspects concerning its purpose, portrayal, provenance, profession and near-perfection continue to baffle the enthusiast even today while the superstitious frown at the metal fence around the Pillar that prevents him from hugging it to discover what fate has in store for him!

However what little is known about this magnificent structure, has given remarkable insights into our past until the British arrival.

The Pillar

The Iron Pillar, located in the Qutub Complex, Mehrauli, Delhi is a twenty-three-foot tall, six-ton structure, almost completely made of wrought Iron, with an intricate bell-pattern capital resting over a bulb shaped base. A now-absent Chakra or Garuda is believed to have rested over the capital. The most baffling aspect of this structure is that the unrelenting tentacles of corrosion have failed to affect this giant mass of iron in its 1600-year-long existence. The rust-free nature of this metallurgical marvel and the absence of known technology to forge such a structure of Iron in the 4^th century AD, led author Erich von Daniken to propose that the Iron Pillar’s true home lay in Outer Space, that it was aliens who forged it and punched it into the ground at Mehrauli.

Gupta Utopia

The Pillar was originally believed to be located at the Udaygiri Caves in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh. Vidisha (as explained in our post on the Heliodorus Pillar) was an important transit point in the trade routes connecting the four corners of the Guptas’ vast empire, as it did for various ‘pan-Indian’ empires before and after the Guptas.

Here, in the Udaygiri Caves, stands the greatest testament to the fittingly named Golden Age of the Guptas. The Udaygiri Caves, with their vast and magnificent wall reliefs, arresting sculptures and informative inscriptions hold up a mirror to the flourishing empire of the Guptas. Among other things you will find:

• a relief of Vishnu in his avatar of Varaha, the boar, rescuing the Earth-Goddess
• a relief of a reclining Vishnu (a pose known as Ananthashayana)
• a spectacular Shiva Linga
• the earliest recorded sculpted figures of Ganesha, of goddess Durga slaying the demon Mahishasura and many others

The caves also mark a revival of the orthodox religion after long years of patronage to Buddhist and Jain faiths. And in this melting pot of a glorious time in Indian history stood the Iron Pillar.

But, alas, this did not last long! The Gupta Empire, which reached its peak during Chandragupta the Second, declined rapidly since then. The Udaygiri Caves were soon abandoned and it is believed that the Tomara king Vigraha Raja or Anangpal, moved the Pillar from Vidisha to a vast Hindu and Jain temple complex in the Tomaras’ new capital Lal Kot, now Mehrauli, Delhi.

The only remaining identification of the Pillar’s Gupta legacy is an inscription in Brahmi script praising one ‘Chandra’ (Chandragupta the Second), which can still be seen today.

The Pillar’s Place in Astronomy

The Pillar is a sign of the expertise of ancient Indian astronomers. Udaygiri, by virtue of its presence on the Tropic of Cancer, was a centre of Indian astronomical studies during the Gupta period. The Pillar, standing in front of a large relief of Ananthashayana, served as a sundial. Its Chakra or Garuda would cast a shadow at the feet of the Vishnu only once a year, early in the morning on summer solstice (June 21).

Just imagine the Udaygiri Cave complex on one such Summer Solstice in the Gupta period – the vast complex, transcending borders of discipline, with wonders of art, architecture, sculpture and religion mingling with the marvels of ancient Science and astronomy, would truly have been an enthralling sight!

Symbolism Attached to the Rust-Free Iron Pillar

Centuries after its casting the Pillar, showing no marks of rusting, had become a symbol of Power and Permanence. This may even have been the reason for its relocation to Lal Kot, the capital of the Tomaras. Any ruler would covet the Power of the hard strength of the Pillar and its rust-free Permanence!

The last Hindu rulers of Delhi, the Tomaras, were driven out of Delhi by Shahabuddin Ghori and so began the rule of Islamic rulers in India. The Aibaks or the Slave dynasty destroyed or defaced the Tomara temple complex and began construction of the Qutub Minar and Quwwat ul Islam mosque in the same area. However, even they left the Iron Pillar intact, endorsing its status as a symbol of Strength. And was it just a coincidence that the British shifted their capital from Kolkata to Delhi?!

Mettalurgy

The mystery of the pillar’s corrosion-proof existence and forging was partly solved by Dr. Balasubramaniam from IIT Kanpur. In addition to other factors, the Pillar remains rust-free mainly because of the presence of minute amounts of Phosphorus, whose amount was increased by the deliberate addition of wood with high phosphorus content during the smelting process.

Phosphorus acts as a catalyst in the formation of a layer of iron oxyhydroxide which prevents rust from eating into the iron of the Pillar. Though this much is understood, what is not clear is how ancient Indian metallurgists had acquired the forging techniques involved in the merger of the huge lumps of iron required to make this pillar, the ornate designs on the capital, the bulb-base of the capital and the now-absent Garuda or Chakra.

The Cancer of Our Culture

The Iron Pillar should be as much a source of Shame to our nation as it is that of Pride. The smiths who forged the Pillar were probably from the underprivileged “lower castes” whose knowledge of metallurgy was more of a tradition than an academic discipline. Their knowledge of smelting was obtained more by trial and error than by scientific analysis. Their illiteracy is probably the reason why their smelting techniques remain a mystery, as there was no way they could record their exploits.

The Brahmans, instilled with arrogance by virtue of their “higher caste” and the Guptas’ orthodox revivalism, and empowered with Sanskrit literacy and the theoretical understanding of some of the Sciences, did not associate with smiths and craftsmen. This dissociation and arrogant rift between the Brahmans and the “lower castes” is probably the reason why progress took a severe beating throughout our recorded antiquity and the mysteries veiling the Iron Pillar are a fitting vindication of this malaise.

Stepwells (baoli) have been used for centuries in the arid regions of India to access water stored in natural aquifers. As far back as the sixth century A.D., villagers have dug deep trenches to reach the water table, freeing them from dependence on seasonal rains.  Masons lined the trenches with stabilizing stones, and introduced flights of stairs down the steep slopes to the water.

At one time, thousands of these stepwells dotted the landscape of northern India, offering not only a means of obtaining fresh water for drinking and cooking, but also a place to escape the burning desert heat. Although some wells remained simple in design, with a single flight of steps leading to the exposed aquifer, many were developed with spaces used for as temples or for daily living.

Unfortunately, almost all step-wells were filled in during the nineteenth and early twentieth century as part of colonial water management plans that relied on pipes and taps. The few that are left are mostly in the arid regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan. However, a few fine examples of single-flight step-wells still remain in Delhi.  The easiest of these to visit is the ASI-preserved Agrasen ki Baoli in Hailey Road, located off a street running between the Malta Embassy and Pavilion Suites in New Delhi.

View from the Top

Architecture of Agrasen ki Baoli

The construction of Agrasen ki Baoli is commonly attributed to the pre-Lodhi (c. 14^th century) Raja Agrasen, ruler of the Agrawal community.  It is a relatively simple structure, consisting of single flight of 103 steps that culminate in a now dry water tank.  The stone walls of the well are stark yet beautiful, forming a 60 x 15 meter rectangle made up of a series of superimposed arcades.

Walkways interrupt the walls at three levels, allowing the visitor to explore various alcoves and rooms that once would have been used as sites for retreat or puja during the summer months.  Today, the more hazardous of these rooms are secured with gates, and of course, you must avoid the pigeons who claim them as their own private roosts.

A Pleasant Stop

View from Inside

The ASI rehabilitated Agrasen ki Baoli as recently as 2002, at which point fresh water appeared in the lower tank, but with the continued depletion of New Delhi water sources, it is probably too much to hope for water to flow naturally into this well ever again.  Still, because the stairs descend well below ground, the air at the bottom of the well remains much cooler than that at surface.  As you reach the bottom of the stairs, listen carefully—underneath the pigeon calls, you will also hear the squeaky chatter of bats, who have taken up residence in the lofty spaces of the dry tank.

Even though Agrasen ki Baoli is quite close to some of the busiest tourist areas of New Delhi—the walk from the well up KG Marg to Connaught Place takes only five minutes—this site is virtually deserted, making it a pleasant stop for anyone seeking an escape from the noise and heat of Delhi in the summer time.  Take a cloth on which to sit (remember the pigeons), and feel free to descend the stairs to escape the young couples skipping school to cuddle and gossip.

The Mosque at the Baoli

The Mosque

While you are at the baoli, be sure and explore the ruins of the mosque at the southwest end of the well.  Not much is known about this structure, but it was probably built within the century following the construction the well.  Notice the pillars comprised of four uprights, and the incredibly heavy stone barrel vault that functions as the roof.

One of the more pleasing results of the development of South Delhi over the past several decades is the variegated urban fabric produced by adding yet one more layer of building construction to an architectural legacy dating back to the so-called Slave Dynasty c. 1192-1287.

Stroll in almost any direction from your doorstep, and you will soon find yourself face-to-face with a trace of Delhi’s long architectural history in the form of a tomb, mosque, shrine or antique wall. For instance, it is almost impossible to take an evening walk without encountering one or more Lodi Tombs, built c. 1451-1526 on what was then an open and sparsely populated land. The Lodi Tombs are spread over a broad area in South Delhi, but are often encountered in clusters, making it easy to visit two or three at a time.

Lodi Tomb Patterns

Although there are variations, the Lodi Tombs generally follow one of three patterns.

1. Type 1 is a tomb that consists of a dome raised on twelve columns over a square platform. The typical octagonal drum of the dome is of modest height, and the dome is usually surrounded by kangura (crenellations) and a chhajja (projecting eave). Each corner of the square tomb is marked by a chhatri (umbrella dome).
2. Type 2 starts with an octagonal base. Each side of the octagon is marked by triple arches, with buttressing at each corner. The dome is supported on a sixteen-sided drum, giving the illusion of a circular space. Often, chhatris mark the entrances, and the parapet is made up of kangura and guldastas (spires).
3. Type 3 looks much heavier, as each façade of the square tomb is all but solid. The pishtaq (central arch) and other arches decorating the facades are usually blind (that is, filled in with masonry rather than left open to light and air). The dome is typically supported by a sixteen-sided dome, which is itself supported by squinches of various forms.

Tombs at Lodi Gardens

The obvious place to visit tombs of the Lodi is, of course, Lodi Gardens. The Gardens are so-called because they contain the tomb of Sikander Lodi (r. 1489-1517), the second ruler of Lodi Dynasty. Here you can also explore the Bada Gumbad and the Sheesh Gumbad, both built during the reign of Sikander Lodi. Predating, but formally related to the Lodi tombs, is the tomb of Mohammad Shah of the Sayyid Dynasty (1414-1451).

Lodi Tombs in South Delhi

A large number of Lodi tombs are scattered across South Delhi from Hauz Khas (market) west to Vasant Vihar. This group of tombs starts in the east with the twelve-pillared Tomb of Makhdum Sahib, and runs west, roughly following the road west across Aurobindo Marg into Green Park. Poti ka Gumbad, Dadi ka Gumbad, Chhoti Gumti, Sakri Gumti and Biran ka Gumbad are all in easy walking distance of Aurobindo or Green Park markets. Within the forest of Deer Park, you can visit Bagh-i-Alam ka Gumbad, Tuhfewala Gumbad and Kali Gumti.

Other Lodi-Era Tombs

The third notable cluster of tombs is much more widespread, stretching east from Aurobindo Marg. The three sub-groups form a rough triangle, pinned at the corners by South Extension, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, and Defence Colony. Proximate to the South Extension Main Market you can visit the Kale Khan ka Gumbad (1481), as well as the unique Tomb of Darya Khan Lohani, the Chief Justice during the reign of Bahlol Lodi, and vakil (advocate) under Sikander Lodi. Slightly north of the market stand the Chhote Khan ka Gumbad and the Bade Khan ka Gumbad, as well as the much more modest Bhure Khan ka Gumbad. Defence Colony features the Tomb of Khwajah Sara Basti, a small part of a larger complex that includes a mosque and baoli (tank). Near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, you can view three anonymous tombs dating from the 14th-16th centuries.

Outside of these three major groups, you can spot Lodi tombs in almost any neighborhood in South Delhi—Humanyunpur, GK-1, Vasant Vihar, etc. Although many of them adhere to the three patterns described above, you will notice interesting variations in the detail, especially if you view them together.

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This is the third in a series of posts about the Lodis by a network of experts on the subject. Read part 1 and part 2.

The scene is set… a large amphitheatre with thousands of spectators in their allotted places waiting with bated breath for the most significant event of the year to commence…. No, this isn’t wishful thinking about the 2010 Commonwealth Games ceremonies, though it is, in some way, a precursor! It’s a spectacle that took place 99 years ago in a large Delhi ‘maidan’, just off Karnal Road, in the year 1911.

As you may have guessed, it was the grand Coronation Durbar of King George V of England where he was crowned the Emperor of India, the first time for an English monarch to be enthroned whilst in India. The vast yet innocuous space of land that today hosts a few statues and a solitary commemorative obelisk, was transformed into a carefully orchestrated theatre where officials gathered in colourful turbans and tunics and where princes of the native states of India paid their obeisance by placing their swords in front of the King’s feet.

Now while all this sounds quite regal and the Durbar was an impressive spectacle of colonial order and discipline, the events that led up to the coronation were far from it. In fact just as the current Commonwealth Games saga has been mired in controversy, so too was the Coronation Durbar. Events like the famines of 1896-97 and 1899-1900 and the partition of Bengal in 1905 had soured public opinion of the British, especially in Calcutta, and the durbar was as much a diversionary tactic for the British as it was a show of power.

The site chosen was the same one used for two previous durbars, in 1877 (proclaiming Queen Victoria as Empress of India) and 1903 (proclamation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra), but this occasion was quite different. The emperor himself was present, which wasn’t the case in the previous durbars. Further, the announcement itself was a momentous one, with far-reaching consequences for India.

Dressed in all his finery (including a crown studded with 6,170 diamonds!), the king emperor stood on the dais and proclaimed that Delhi would become the imperial capital of India instead of Calcutta! Once again, Delhi was the seat of power in India.

(Note: the Coronation Memorial site is a few kilometers beyond Kingsway camp, just after Nirankari Colony. The obelisk can be seen from afar and the statues of George V and his dignitaries are located in an enclosure. If lost, look out for children playing cricket)